CEDIA has announced that the 2019 Americas CEDIA Awards Celebration will be hosted in conjunction with a new leadership conference at the iconic Drake Hotel in Chicago. The event, which is scheduled for July 24-25, will offer a full day of interactive conference sessions followed by the CEDIA Awards Celebration in the evening.

"This is CEDIA's 30th anniversary and we want to commemorate this milestone with a very special event,” said Giles Sutton, senior vice president of industry engagement at CEDIA. “While the CEDIA Awards have traditionally been held in conjunction with CEDIA Expo, we recognize that it is an incredibly busy week for all our members, and over the years, we have worried that these important awards have not gotten the attention they deserve.”

CEDIA and Emerald Expositions will be awarding category winners in the Americas region with a CEDIA Expo travel package including flight reimbursement up to $500 and a three night hotel stay at this year's CEDIA Expo. CEDIA Award winners will also be featured in communications and promotions both at the show and year-round.

"We are very excited to offer this additional prize to CEDIA Award winners, and appreciate the generous donation of our partner Emerald,” Sutton said. “This new event is going to provide a great platform to celebrate excellence, and our ability to couple the awards with an interactive conference means that attendees will receive tremendous value for their time out of the office."

The CEDIA Leadership Conference is being designed to strike a balance between tactical and strategic thinking for company owners and executives with the ultimate goal of capitalizing on opportunities to drive new business. Content is still being finalized but attendees can expect to be able to choose from sessions covering various topics including a detailed look at the economy over the next year, monetizing the wellness movement and evaluating new channels to expand your business.

Registration will open on May 8. Early bird pricing for the conference and awards event is $700 for members and $1,000 for non-members; tables of 10 are $7,670 and members will receive a 15 percent discount while CEDIA Expo exhibitors will receive an additional 15 percent discount for a member/ exhibitor price of $5,900. Members may purchase an early bird CEDIA Awards ticket for $150.

Additional details about the CEDIA Leadership Conference will be available in the coming weeks. CEDIA is still accepting entries into the awards program for 2019 and the deadline has been extended to April 12. Members may view the requirements and begin their entry at cedia.net/awards.